How does link building work in 2025?

Does link building still work in 2025?

Link building is often labeled as outdated or ineffective — but that couldn’t be further from the truth. In reality, link building remains a powerful and essential component of any successful online marketing strategy, even in 2025. In fact, it's arguably more important now than ever before.

As digital competition continues to grow, and with the lasting impact of COVID-19 accelerating the shift to online marketing, high-quality backlinks are still one of the most effective ways to improve your search engine rankings and drive organic traffic.

That said, link building has evolved. Techniques that worked in 2010 won’t necessarily work today — or worse, could even harm your rankings. Over the years, Google has introduced countless algorithm updates that reward natural, relevant, and high-authority links while penalizing manipulative tactics.

To succeed with link building in 2025, you need to stay up to date with the latest best practices and focus on quality over quantity.

Domain Authority

How does a website rank within Google’s search results? And how influential is that website? A key factor behind this is domain authority.

Domain authority is a score that reflects how trustworthy and authoritative a website is in the eyes of search engines. This score typically ranges from 1 to 100 — the higher the number, the stronger the domain. While Google uses its own internal metrics, third-party tools like Moz, Ahrefs, and Semrush also provide domain authority scores to help marketers evaluate link quality.

A high domain authority increases your chances of ranking well in Google’s search results — also known as your SERP position (Search Engine Results Page).

However, it’s important to note that domain authority applies to the overall website, not to specific pages. A page’s individual value — and the strength of a specific backlink — can vary significantly. More on that later.

How does Google determine domain authority?

Google evaluates a variety of factors to assess the value and authority of a website — but some criteria carry more weight than others. Here are the key elements that influence domain authority:

• Make sure your domain is well-optimized for search engines. Follow established SEO best practices, including proper use of keywords, meta tags, and mobile responsiveness.

• A clear and organized website structure helps both users and search engine crawlers. The better your navigation, the easier it is for Google’s bots to index your pages, which can positively impact your authority.

• Regularly monitor your site for broken links, outdated content, and technical issues. Keeping your site clean and updated improves crawlability and user experience — both important for authority.

• Quality backlinks remain one of the strongest signals of domain authority. When reputable sites link to yours, Google sees this as a sign of trust and relevance, rewarding your site with improved rankings.

While Google doesn’t publicly share an exact “domain authority” score, several third-party tools provide reliable estimates using their own algorithms. Popular tools include:

• Semrush

• Moz

• Majestic

• Ahrefs

Tip: Stick to one tool for consistent comparisons. Since each platform uses different metrics and scales, switching tools may give you inconsistent or misleading results.

The specific criteria Google uses to evaluate domain authority are not fully transparent. And while domain authority is a helpful metric, it doesn’t tell the whole story. It’s just one piece of the puzzle when it comes to your website’s visibility and content quality.

What is anchor text?

Anchor text is the clickable text in a hyperlink — a key element in the link building process. It can point to either an internal page on your own website or an external site. Effective anchor text plays an important role in both SEO and user experience, helping Google understand the context of a link and guiding users to relevant content.

But what exactly makes an anchor text effective? Clear and descriptive anchor text is crucial. Generic terms like “click here” or “read more” offer little context — neither to users nor to search engines. Instead, good anchor text should clearly indicate what the linked page is about.

Here are the most common types of anchor text used in SEO:

Branded Anchor Text
Includes a brand, company, or person’s name. Example: Digital Newsgroup or Pieter Schippers.

URL Anchor Text
Uses the full URL as the anchor. Often seen in citations or directories. Example: https://www.digitalnewsgroup.com.

Exact Match Anchor Text
The anchor text exactly matches the keyword you're targeting. Example: link building or anchor text.

Partial Match Anchor Text
Includes a variation of the target keyword within a phrase. Example: advanced link building or creating anchor texts.

Synonym Anchor Text
Uses a synonym of the main keyword to add variation. Example: link building – off-page optimization.

Related Anchor Text
The anchor text is thematically related to the keyword but not a direct match. Example: link building – linking with websites.

Random Anchor Text
Contains vague, non-descriptive phrases. Example: go to or read more.

Image Anchor Text
Instead of text, an image is linked. The alt text serves as the anchor.
This is also important for accessibility and helps visually impaired users.

Title Anchor Text
Uses the exact title of a page or article as the anchor. Example: How to Start Link Building in 2025

All nine types of anchor texts can be useful, but it’s important to know when and where to use each one. For example, it would feel quite odd to be reading a well-written article and suddenly come across a full URL as anchor text. So always pay attention to the context and choose the right type accordingly.

Reasons to start with link building

Not yet convinced why link building is essential for your business? Here are several compelling reasons to get started as soon as possible:

• Boost new content – Just published a page on a trending topic? Link building can help it rank higher in Google, driving traffic quickly.
• See results fast – Depending on the number and quality of backlinks, you can start seeing improvements within just one to two weeks.
• Increase brand awareness – A structured link building strategy improves your online visibility and credibility.
• Enhance your marketing mix – Link building is a powerful but often overlooked part of a successful online marketing strategy.

Guest blogging

One of the most effective ways to gain high-quality backlinks is through guest blogging. This involves writing and publishing content on websites that are relevant to your niche — often in exchange for valuable backlinks.

Publishing guest posts on trusted websites boosts your domain authority, strengthens your SEO, and increases your online exposure. In short: guest blogging helps you rank better and attract more visitors.

Why choose guest blogging?

• It’s effective for every type of website — from startups to established brands
• It drives targeted traffic and helps convert visitors into leads or customers
• Most guest posts include two backlinks, helping your SEO and domain authority
• It’s a win-win: the host site receives quality content, and you gain visibility and ranking power

Guest blogging isn’t just for experienced marketers — it’s ideal for newcomers as well. Both parties benefit from high-quality, natural backlinks that Google recognizes and rewards.

At Digital Newsgroup, we’ve developed proprietary software that gives you access to over 75,000 guest blogging opportunities — so you no longer need to spend hours manually searching for relevant sites.

With our support, guest blogging becomes simple, scalable, and results-driven.

Link building techniques

Link building involves a variety of techniques that, when combined, help create a strong, balanced, and natural link profile. These methods are often used together to ensure diversity — and if there’s one thing Google values, it’s authenticity.

The best results come from using multiple techniques in harmony, as each approach reinforces the others. Skipping even one element of your link building strategy can negatively impact your rankings. That's why it’s important to build backlinks gradually and organically, instead of generating many links all at once. A sudden spike in backlinks can raise red flags with Google and may lead to penalties.

Below are four commonly used link building techniques that contribute to a healthy backlink profile:

Press releases with authority

Press releases are a form of guest blogging, but with a news-driven focus. By writing and distributing newsworthy press releases to high-authority media platforms, you can gain powerful backlinks while also boosting your brand visibility and credibility.

These types of links often come from respected news websites — platforms that naturally receive high traffic and hold strong domain authority. Topics like “What is link building?” or “Examples of link building in practice” work well when tailored to timely developments in your business or industry.

Beyond SEO value, press releases are an effective tool to:

• Drive targeted traffic to your website
• Build trust and authority for your brand
• Reach wider audiences through established media channels

To maximize results, it’s crucial to send your press release to the right editorial teams — those relevant to your niche or sector.

Blogging

As mentioned earlier, blogging is one of the most commonly used — and most effective — link building techniques. Publishing blog posts on platforms that are relevant to your niche is a smart way to reach your target audience with content that truly resonates.

By including well-placed backlinks within your blog posts, you can:

• Drive relevant traffic to your website

• Strengthen your domain authority

• Build relationships with new audiences

• Support your overall content marketing strategy

In other words, you're not just improving your SEO — you're delivering value to potential customers. It’s a true win-win: high-quality backlinks and meaningful engagement.

Tiered link building

Tiered link building is a more advanced — but highly effective — strategy, particularly useful for competitive keywords. It involves building layers of links that pass authority through to your main website.

Here’s how it works:

1. Create a blog post on a third-party website. This post includes a backlink to your own site.

2. Build backlinks to that blog post. These second-tier links boost the authority of the article itself.

3. As the blog post gains strength, it passes even more link equity to your website through the original backlink.

This approach may sound technical, but it’s a powerful method to amplify the value of your existing backlinks. Instead of building hundreds of direct links to your site, you strengthen the pages that link to you — creating a compounding SEO effect.

Internal link building

Internal link building is often underestimated but forms a vital part of a solid SEO strategy. While we’ve mainly focused on external link building — links from other websites that point to your own — internal linking involves connecting different pages within your own website.

This technique helps distribute link equity across your site, ensuring that important pages, blog posts, or content pieces gain more visibility in search engines. It also improves the user experience by guiding visitors to relevant information, keeping them engaged longer and helping them navigate your website more easily.

Just like with external backlinks, internal linking should be approached with care. The anchor text should be relevant and descriptive, and the links themselves should serve a purpose. If done correctly, internal linking supports both your SEO and usability, and can significantly boost the overall performance of your website.

A strong internal link structure also ensures that the value passed on by external backlinks flows through to other key pages within your site. This makes internal link building not just a supportive tactic, but an essential part of a well-rounded SEO approach.

Benefits of internal link building

• You can easily place, change, or remove links yourself

• You have full control over your site’s structure and navigation

• You can add more depth or context to your content by linking related pages

• It improves your website’s visibility in search engine results

• It enhances accessibility and crawlability for search engines like Google

Outsourcing link building

For many entrepreneurs and marketers, setting up a successful link building campaign can be both complex and time-consuming. That’s why outsourcing your link building is often a smart and efficient choice. At Digital Newsgroup, our team of experts is ready to handle the entire process for you.

Link building is essential for every business — large or small. Google treats backlinks as a signal of trust and relevance. The more high-quality links pointing to your website, the better your chances of ranking higher in search results.

Looking for a link building agency?

Are you convinced that link building is what your business needs? Great! At our specialist link building agency in Tilburg, you're in good hands. Our dedicated team is ready to help your company secure top positions in Google through strategic link building.

Beyond link building, we also offer expertise in digital marketing and content marketing, ensuring a well-rounded approach to your online growth.

Interested in our link building rates or services?
Feel free to reach out by email, give us a call, or visit our contact page — we’d love to hear from you!

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